Like many other districts, the Lake Oswego school district in Oregon kicked off the new school year by opening a brand new school.
But this one is special.
The 79,000-square-foot River Grove Elementary School south of Portland is one-of-a-kind, specially built to withstand the growing and increasingly unpredictable effects of climate change.
It is believed to be one of the first K-12 schools in America to get its energy from a microgrid—a self-sufficient energy system, partially powered by an onsite solar array, that can operate independently from the area’s electric grid. Most schools have traditionally run on fossil fuels and used backup energy from fuel-powered generators.
River Grove, with space for about 600 students in kindergarten through 5th grade, is designed to remain standing—and available as a place of refuge for the community—amid earthquakes, severe storms, wildfires, and extreme temperatures.
“Coming off of the pandemic, which was a pretty significant piece of history, we also had a number of other regional disasters that had … closed buildings down for more than a week or two,” said Tony Vandenberg, executive director of project management for the 6,900-student school district. “We wanted to make sure that we were being resilient, and we were able to respond sustainably to climate change, and being able to showcase that in a building like this is very important for us.”
The school’s microgrid setup means the school’s power and heating and cooling systems can stay on even when the rest of the surrounding area goes dark, which could translate to fewer emergency school closures. And it’s part of what makes the school suitable as an emergency shelter for the community during natural disasters.
The school is also certified at the highest-level “structural performance code,” meaning its structural integrity is stronger than that of a traditional school, the mechanical equipment has been tested to ensure it can withstand the trauma of an earthquake, and the building can be immediately occupied following an earthquake.
Experts say districts could take a lesson from River Grove and begin planning now for the effects of climate change by outfitting existing schools with infrastructure to withstand extreme weather and natural disasters, such as upgraded heating and cooling and other energy-efficient systems.
“I think when it comes to climate resiliency, every community has something that they can get behind,” said Rebecca Stuecker, architect and educational planner at the architecture firm Arcadis, which worked with the Lake Oswego district on the River Grove project.
Climate-resilient schools can also provide students with early exposure to eco-friendly methods and applied lessons on the importance of being good residents of Earth, Stuecker said.
“It’s also an opportunity to teach students how a building can change the way you think and act and reduce your energy use,” she said. “Offering a learning tool when we do [a building project] is the responsible thing to do.”
